Traditional Navy Bean Soup

Soups such as traditional navy bean soup can take a little extra time since the beans require hours of soaking to be soft enough for eating. But a good navy bean soup is worth the wait.

How to Soak BeansBeans should be soaked for about eight hours. Read the directions on the side of the bag, and follow them exactly.

To save time on making a recipe for navy bean soup, you can also use a pressure cooker. When softening beans in the pressure cooker, always consult your owner's manual, never fill the cooker more than half way and never pressure cook dried beans without first soaking them for at least two hours and then draining them. Also, beans are dirty, so do not use the water they soaked in for your soup.

Cover the beans in cold water, and let sit overnight or about eight hours. Drain and rinse. Dump the beans into a kettle or into a crock pot. Cover the beans with water, and add bouillon cubes. Add the remaining ingredients, and cook for several hours. This is a lengthy process. Don't worry if the carrots and potatoes lose their shape and turn to mush in the soup. The only concern you should have while making this soup is to keep it from burning and to make sure it's cooked thoroughly. When the beans become tender and begin to separate, the soup is done.

For a creamy tomato soup, you'll want to stick to the main ingredients: heavy cream and butter. Slightly healthier versions of this classic soup exist, but only the real stuff offers the right flavor and taste.

If you've ever tried to perfect your soup stock skills and have come up short, here are some suggestions and tips for making the most delicious stock you will ever taste. My recipes are only a guideline, so feel free to add your own herbs and vegetables to make a truly unique stock.

Pasta e fagioli is an Italian soup-stew. Save broken pasta (such as lasagna) and leftover beans to use in this pasta e fagioli recipe. It's thrifty, flavorful and versatile. It can be made from just about any kind of pasta and beans, and can be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon and using vegetable stock. Serve half the batch for dinner and freeze the other half for when you need a fast meal.